Final.

[Matt79]

I certainly don't think the Aussies will be complacent. They lost the last final of a ODI tournament they participated in, so its not like they believe they have a god-given guarantee to win every match they play. They've played well since then, and what they showed in spades against SA is that they are experts in bringing their best performances into big situations. The recent hiccup against England aside, their unparalleled record in finals in recent years is a testament to this as well. The fact is Australia generally plays better in finals than their normal high standard. That is frequently not the case for other teams.

SL are, after Australia, probably the most talented side in OD cricket. They have three or four players who can produce individual performances that can win the match. It has to be said however, that other than Murali, they don't produce those performances as frequently as their counterparts in the Australian team. Jayasuriya used to be as reliable a match winner as any in world cricket, but the reality is that while he can and might turn back the clock on occasion, he's not the player he used to be, and while he might produce a match-winning knock, it would be something of a surprise.

That's why I think Australia will win.

 

[irfan]

Sorry Mate, I better revert to my original and common stance which is the realistic guy in me speaking.... SL are definite underdogs .... look at the past and you can see the number of times we let the Aussies get ahead when we should've beaten them... the Australian tour to SL when we had a chance to equal the Test series at Kandy and go onto the 3rd Test all square ...we let them beat us and ended up losing it 3-0 .

The ODI series we lost again where we should've won... Even the VB series last year we took them to the 3rd game of the finals but really did not achieve what we could've and won that series ....

Realistically, Aussies have it in them to beat us ...but we have several guys who are due for a big showing....Sanath has missed out in several games leading up to this ...Sanga the same ... Due for a big innings. .

Among the bowlers Maharoof has failed to deliver so far...and Vaas has been there and thereabouts but the Aussies can come hard on him ... Same with Murali...Aussies have a desire to smash 6's off him and make him look ordinary....

So the reality is we are going to have a tough day at the office....But they must believe in themselves and make the best of it.... and lady luck may shine.... I am hoping..

At best its 60/40 ....

And I agree we may be a bit too optimistic and not realistic.... but its much better than be pessimistic...

Sick of being the eternal pessimist, eh. What happened to your previous standpoint of if we have no expectations and if we do well, then that's a bonus ?

You're one of the more prominent SL fan posters and I'd like to see you a bit more optimistic about you're team and be a bit more passionate instead of approaching each SL game with a 'defeatist' attitude. Hopefully you're turning things around with this post.

Go Lankans !!

 

[SJS]

SL are, after Australia, probably the most talented side in OD cricket.

Not sure about that. There is a lot of talent in their subcontinental neighbours lands too.

Where Sri Lanka scores, I think, is in getting a few vital areas right and these have been the bug bear of South Asian teams.....and the absence of which, I daresay, is the hallmark of all top class sides.

Firstly the fielding and running between the wickets. Sri Lanka have done a great job in the first of these two and have improved in the second.

Then discipline in bowling. Its good to see much fewere no balls and wides from Sri Lankan bowlers in this world cup than one is used to. I am not saying this from any comaprison of figures but from the overall picture I have from watching.

Finally the team spirit. Of the three sub-continental sides, Sri Lanka seem to be the one where players appear to be playing for the side rather than for themselves. Pakistani and Indian stars are terrible in this respect. Its also beautiful to see the relations between the skipper and two former skippers in the side and another one sitting on the bench. Just think if this had happened in Indian or Pakistani cricket. We wouldnt have read anything about the on-field happenings in the papers.

Sri Lanka are talented but there is more to there success than just that.

 

[Matt79]

Not sure about that. There is a lot of talent in their subcontinental neighbours lands too.

Not saying that isn't the case - I'm just saying that currently, Sri Lanka's normal starting 11 is more talented than any of their competitors apart from Australia. And by talent, I don't mean just "raw talent" or "naturally physically gifted" - I mean the mental side of the game as well - possessing the right attitudes and understanding of their own game and their teams games.

I think we're agreeing with each other in everything except how we're defining "talent", and the interpretation I think you're using is probably the more commonly understood one - so its probably appropriate that I clarify what I meant as I have done so in this post.

 

[SJS]

Not saying that isn't the case - I'm just saying that currently, Sri Lanka's normal starting 11 is more talented than any of their competitors apart from Australia. And by talent, I don't mean just "raw talent" or "naturally physically gifted" - I mean the mental side of the game as well - possessing the right attitudes and understanding of their own game and their teams games.

I think we're agreeing with each other in everything except how we're defining "talent", and the interpretation I think you're using is probably the more commonly understood one - so its probably appropriate that I clarify what I meant as I have done so in this post.

 

[shehanwije]

Not sure about that. There is a lot of talent in their subcontinental neighbours lands too.

Where Sri Lanka scores, I think, is in getting a few vital areas right and these have been the bug bear of South Asian teams.....and the absence of which, I daresay, is the hallmark of all top class sides.

Firstly the fielding and running between the wickets. Sri Lanka have done a great job in the first of these two and have improved in the second.

Then discipline in bowling. Its good to see much fewere no balls and wides from Sri Lankan bowlers in this world cup than one is used to. I am not saying this from any comaprison of figures but from the overall picture I have from watching.

Finally the team spirit. Of the three sub-continental sides, Sri Lanka seem to be the one where players appear to be playing for the side rather than for themselves. Pakistani and Indian stars are terrible in this respect. Its also beautiful to see the relations between the skipper and two former skippers in the side and another one sitting on the bench. Just think if this had happened in Indian or Pakistani cricket. We wouldnt have read anything about the on-field happenings in the papers.

Sri Lanka are talented but there is more to there success than just that.

Good post. We Lankans are all cricket crazy. For an overseas person to understand this level of interest, you will need to combine the support for cricket, rugby, AFL together. But the defining feature of Lankan cricket support is that its "still a game", not a life or death situation. We handle our victories and defeats with some level of moderation.

Sanath, Murali, Mahela etc walk down the streets of Colombo without any hassle frrom fans. Yes, they are recognised, but left alone and treated like normal people. Hence why they are so unassuming and well liked by all. I recollect seeing Ponting and Fleming walking into a supermarket in Colombo on the '99 tour - no one mobbed them or even asked them for an autograph. A tad different if this happened in India?

 

[Matt79]

Probably getting off-topic for this thread, but I have to say how much I admire the SL guys for their general attitude and team spirit. I'm particularly impressed with how they seem to keep it together so well given the strife that has been going on in SL for years and years now. Out of interest, how many of the team are Tamils? IIRC Murali is - are there others? If so, is the team isolated from the troubles to an extent or is it an issue within the team?

 

[Jono]

Will be exciting, whether they go for 8 an over or scalp 5.

 

[shehanwije]

Probably getting off-topic for this thread, but I have to say how much I admire the SL guys for their general attitude and team spirit. I'm particularly impressed with how they seem to keep it together so well given the strife that has been going on in SL for years and years now. Out of interest, how many of the team are Tamils? IIRC Murali is - are there others? If so, is the team isolated from the troubles to an extent or is it an issue within the team?

The team are all Sri Lankans first, and play with a sense of utmost unity....Arnold and Murali just happen to be tamil....Maharoof is muslim, Dilshan is half muslim/sinhalese...etc etc. Cricket is a unifying force in Sri Lanka. Even the Tamil Tigers watch the cricket...and there is supposed to be a ceasefire in the distant north again, for the finals.

 

[JBH001]

Sorry Mate, I better revert to my original and common stance which is the realistic guy in me speaking.... SL are definite underdogs .... look at the past and you can see the number of times we let the Aussies get ahead when we should've beaten them... the Australian tour to SL when we had a chance to equal the Test series at Kandy and go onto the 3rd Test all square ...we let them beat us and ended up losing it 3-0 .

The ODI series we lost again where we should've won... Even the VB series last year we took them to the 3rd game of the finals but really did not achieve what we could've and won that series ....

Realistically, Aussies have it in them to beat us ...but we have several guys who are due for a big showing....Sanath has missed out in several games leading up to this ...Sanga the same ... Due for a big innings. .

Among the bowlers Maharoof has failed to deliver so far...and Vaas has been there and thereabouts but the Aussies can come hard on him ... Same with Murali...Aussies have a desire to smash 6's off him and make him look ordinary....

So the reality is we are going to have a tough day at the office....But they must believe in themselves and make the best of it.... and lady luck may shine.... I am hoping..

At best its 60/40 ....

And I agree we may be a bit too optimistic and not realistic.... but its much better than be pessimistic...

Ah, thats better, Jason.

I think it best, at least in these circumstances, to be cautiously optimistic.

 

[shehanwije]

"Win or lose, Sri Lanka will return home heroes. On arrival in Colombo, a motorcade will take them to Independence Square, and thousands of fans are expected to line the route. In a region where players are abused and their houses stoned merely because they 'failed' in a final, the Sri Lankan mindset is a breath of fresh air"

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/292624.html

 

[marc71178]

So you admit that your captain is a liar then, as he told Ponting he didn't know the do was on? Interesting.....

Because of course, Ponting is whiter than white isn't he?

 

[Athlai]

"Win or lose, Sri Lanka will return home heroes. On arrival in Colombo, a motorcade will take them to Independence Square, and thousands of fans are expected to line the route. In a region where players are abused and their houses stoned merely because they 'failed' in a final, the Sri Lankan mindset is a breath of fresh air"

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/292624.html

Sri Lanka will just be glad that unlike India and Pakistan, they didn't look like crap in this World Cup. They did themselves proud.

 

[JASON]

"Win or lose, Sri Lanka will return home heroes. On arrival in Colombo, a motorcade will take them to Independence Square, and thousands of fans are expected to line the route. In a region where players are abused and their houses stoned merely because they 'failed' in a final, the Sri Lankan mindset is a breath of fresh air"

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/current/story/292624.html

Thats great on the part of SL Cricket to organise that....Regardless of tonight's result, they have done brilliantly ....and Tom Moody and Trevor Penney deserve all the Kudos....the latter in particular is an unassuming , quitely achieving legend.


They will still return a million dollars richer ... even if they miss out on the second million.

 

[JASON]

The team are all Sri Lankans first, and play with a sense of utmost unity....Arnold and Murali just happen to be tamil....Maharoof is muslim, Dilshan is half muslim/sinhalese...etc etc. Cricket is a unifying force in Sri Lanka. Even the Tamil Tigers watch the cricket...and there is supposed to be a ceasefire in the distant north again, for the finals.

That's True ...All the Guns will stop firing to watch the Cricket ...and Tamil or Sinhalese everyone supports the Cricket Team whatever their politics may be...

 

[JASON]

Another ominous sign for me is something I have just noticed over the last 2 days....

The overwhelming number of Sri Lankan posts on this thread...and the large majority of Aussie posters have gone quiet ..... That's not keeping with the normal trend...and it worries me as it seems they are keeping quiet and will come back after the game to really rub it into us...

 

[Laurrz]

about 10 hours to go

 

[Prince EWS]

Another ominous sign for me is something I have just noticed over the last 2 days....

The overwhelming number of Sri Lankan posts on this thread...and the large majority of Aussie posters have gone quiet ..... That's not keeping with the normal trend...and it worries me as it seems they are keeping quiet and will come back after the game to really rub it into us...

 

[nightprowler10]

really rub it into us...

 

[SJS]

Another ominous sign for me is something I have just noticed over the last 2 days....

The overwhelming number of Sri Lankan posts on this thread...and the large majority of Aussie posters have gone quiet ..... That's not keeping with the normal trend...and it worries me as it seems they are keeping quiet and will come back after the game to really rub it into us...

All the more reason not to go overboard with the "our-time-has-come" bit. Remember India in 1993